1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coverings for architectural openings and more particularly to an anchor for securing one end of an operating cord for the covering in a bottom rail or other component of the covering.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Retractable coverings for architectural openings such as windows, doors, archways, or the like, typically include a head rail, a bottom rail, and a blind material extending between the head rail and bottom rail. The blind material can be many different materials such as sheets of fabric, horizontal slats as found in Venetian blinds, cellular shade material or the like. The covering further typically includes at least one operating element which can be in the form of a cord, tape, or the like, with some of the operating elements extending from the head rail to the bottom rail and being operative to lift the bottom rail toward the top rail thereby causing the blind material to fold or collapse therebetween.
As will be appreciated, it is desirable that the bottom rail remain parallel to the top rail and to the frame or still of the architectural opening in which the covering is mounted. Accordingly, systems have been designed for connecting the operative element to the bottom rail at a predetermined location along the length of a plurality of corresponding operative elements. Typically there are more than one operative element connecting the head rail to the bottom rail in order to maintain a parallel relationship between the head rail and bottom rail. Accordingly, each operative element needs to have an identical effective length between the head rail and bottom rail in order to maintain the parallel relationship.
In conventional coverings for architectural openings, the operative elements may be connected to the bottom rail simply by passing the element through a hole in the bottom rail and tying a knot in the element at the desired location along the length of the cord. As will be appreciated, however, it is difficult to tie a knot at a precise location along the length of a cord or the like and, accordingly, it is difficult to obtain precisely the same effective length in each operative element. Attempts to improve on that system have included the use of a pocket-type insert in the bottom rail through which the operative element can be passed and the insertion of a ferrule into the pocket to pinch the operating cord at the predetermined location along the length of the operative element. Such systems are more effective than simply knotting the operative elements, but as will be appreciated, it is difficult to hold the operative element at a precise location along its length relative to the pocket when inserting the ferrule into the pocket and accordingly, this system has also proven to be less than fully satisfactory.
It is to overcome shortcomings in prior art systems for connecting operative elements of coverings for architectural openings to operative components of the covering that the present invention has been developed.